Petitioners Secure Needed Signatures; Sports Complex Issue To Be On Ballot

Petitioners Secure Needed Signatures; Sports Complex Issue To Be On Ballot
A portion of the proposed sports complex site is pictured to the west of Stephen Decatur High School. Photo by Charlene Sharpe

SNOW HILL– Voters will have the chance to weigh in on bond funding related to a sports complex following a successful petition drive.

The citizen committee working on a petition for referendum regarding Worcester County’s use of more than $11 million in bond funding to develop a sports complex announced this week that it collected more than enough signatures to trigger a referendum.

“The committee is pleased to announce that our county-wide petition drive was successful,” said Slobodan Trendic, a spokesperson for the People for Fiscal Responsibility Committee. “A total of 5,093 valid signatures were accepted, which is 599 more than the required number. As a result of the petitioners’ efforts all registered voters in Worcester County will be given the opportunity to vote on Bill 22-8 related to the funding of the sports complex project.”

Since the Worcester County Commissioners voted to use bond funds to move forward with a sports complex on property next to Stephen Decatur High School, members of People for Fiscal Responsibility have been circulating a petition to bring the issue to referendum. A referendum requires a petition with signatures from 10% of the county’s voters. Members of the committee collected 68% of the required signatures to turn in last month and had another 40 days to reach the threshold.

Patricia Jackson, election director for the Worcester County Election Office, confirmed this week that the petitioners had turned in additional signatures. She said the petition had 5,093 valid signatures, more than the 4,494 needed to pass.

According to her office there were 5,455 signatures on the petition and 5,093 were accepted. The majority of signatures that were not accepted were from people not registered to vote.

“We would like to thank the more than seventy volunteers throughout the entire county who worked hard to help us gather the required signatures,” Trendic said. “We also wish to thank the Worcester County voters who supported our efforts by signing the petition.”

Jackson said her office had notified the county administrator and the county attorney that the petition was valid.

“They will decide on language to put on the November ballot,” she said.

About The Author: Charlene Sharpe

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Charlene Sharpe has been with The Dispatch since 2014. A graduate of Stephen Decatur High School and the University of Richmond, she spent seven years with the Delmarva Media Group before joining the team at The Dispatch.